Prince House

Last week, it was a little after 10p.m. that my cousins suddenly wanted to hang out. There were not so many options for late night snack in Kelapa Gading area. Our favorite was Prince House, and so there we went. They have killer waffles! The only downside was there were A LOT of mosquitoes, there were times that we did not go there, even though we wanted to because of it.

The dummy waffles!

The first thing I noticed whenever I went there was this showcases in the middle of the room filled with delicious tempting looking waffles. Little did I know they were only dummies! They look so cute, right?

Nachos - Rp 15k

We were there for late night snack, and at that time, they usually only offered waffles. However, we managed to order the nachos. Well, it was a bit disappointment since the tortilla chips were actually (we believed they were) Happy Tos! There were no cheddar cheese as promised in the menu as well. It was just Happy tos and salsa, which they claimed to be homemade but we did not buy it. pshh...

Lemon Tea (Rp 11k), Dark Chocolate Gelato Shake (Rp 26k), and
Strawberry Italian Soda (Rp 14k)

The Chocolate Gelato shake was sweet, my cousin loved it. However, it was a bit too milky to my liking. I ordered the Strawberry Italian Soda and it was also sweet, I definitely can taste the strawberry flavor in it. But on a second thought, it tasted like soggy fanta, less soda and wayyy sweeter than normal fanta. Then my cousin, who ordered the Lemon Tea, and I realized that our drinks was a bit too sweet and had almost no ice, so we asked for more ice. It turned out that they ran out of ice!!! They should have warned us when we ordered, or at least told us when they were about to make it. Another disappointment here that they decided to fool us. It was not a big of deal tho', but stil....

Tiramisu Cappucino Deluxe - Rp 28k

For the waffles, we got the Tiramisu Cappucino Deluxe. Deluxe set means we got two waffles and one scoops of gelato. Tiramisu Gelato included 3 toppings, which were chocolate tiramisu sauce, chocolate cappucino sauce, and topped with chocolate rice. For the gelato my cousin insisted on picking the durian gelato. The waffles were great. They were a bit crunchy yet soft. The durian gelato also tasted great. It was smooth in texture and the flavor was not too strong, but you can definitely taste the durian.

Cinnamilk - Rp 8k

We also ordered Cinnamilk. The waffle was basically covered with white chocolate sauce and sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon powder. I am actually not a fan of white chocolate because it can get too milky and sweet. However, I love this one. They have enough sweetness, and the cinnamon took over the milky taste. Loved it!

Prince House
Jl. Boulevard Raya Kelapa Gading Blok WA2 No 12
Jakarta Utara
Ph: (021) 9829 9537

Bakerzin

After a movie in Plaza Indonesia tonight, My friend and I decided to grab some snacks at the not-so-newly opened Bakerzin. Bakerzin Plaza Indonesia had just been relocated from the Basement to the Ground floor, exactly next to Kichenette. It still has the elegant aura but I like the new one better since they really separate the smoking and non-smoking zone with the kitchen and cake showcase in between them.

Bratwurst with Sauteed Potato - Rp 45k

We ordered the sausage and it was heavenly! We were not hungry but we wanted more of these.lol The sausages were fat, tasty, and tender. They was not too fulfilling so they left us wanting more of them. The baby potatoes were also delicious. They were soft inside but crunchy on the outside.

Mango Sparkling Fruity Tea - Rp 27.5k

I ordered the Mango Sparkling Fruity Tea for the drink. It was mango tea mixed with Sprite, if I'm not mistaken. I really loved this! It was sweet and refreshing.

Grand Marnier Souffle - Rp 47.5k

For dessert, we got the Grand Marnier Souffle. I am a fan of their Baileys Souffle, but this time around my friend suggested the Grand Marnier one instead. I still preferred the Baileys Souffle over this one, but I quite liked it. However, my friend did not like it at all. She said it was too milky. I actually felt the same, but I didn't find it disturbing tho'.

On a side note, I would like to say that I like their menu with beautiful photographs of its food.

Bakerzin

Plaza Indonesia, 1st Floor E17

Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 28-30

Jakarta Pusat

Ph: (021) 2992-3715

http://www.bakerzin.co.id

Pizza Marzano

Pizza Marzano has just opened a new branch in Mall Kelapa Gading. My friends and I decided to give it a try. As expected from a newly opened restaurant in Jakarta, the place was full and we had to wait for a few minutes for our table.

Garlic Bread with Mozarella - Rp 28k

We ordered Garlic Bread with Mozarella for appetizer. The garlic bread was not like your ordinary toasted garlic baguette-like bread. The bread was lightly toasted. Thus, it still managed to have some tenderness but with melted mozarella on top. The bread itself was a bit on the sweet side. I really loved it!

Bruschetta Picante - Rp 28k

We also got the Bruschetta Picante for another appetizer. The bread was the same as the Garlic bread. However, it supposed to come with several other toppings, such as tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, beef bacon, topped with grana padano and mozarella. Well, I did not spot any jalapeno peppers but oh well...It tasted okay. I preferred the simple garlic bread.

Quatro Carni - Rp 77k

We decided to ordered 2 pizza and 2 pasta to share. However, the waitress missed one of our pizza order :( So we just got our Quatro Carni. It has chicken ham, pepperoni, spicy beef, and chicken. However, they did not distributed the toppings evenly, as you can see from the pictures. I tried to pepperoni and it was okay. The pizza crust was thin and I liked that I can taste the generous amount of melted cheese.

Maccheroni Al Forno Alla Bolognese - Rp 65k

For pasta, we ordered Maccheroni Bolognese and Penne Carbonara. The Maccheroni was my favorite! It came with bechamel sauce, bolognese sauce, mozarella, and grana padano. The dish was rich on cheese yet I did not feel overwhelmed by it. It might be because they have the perfect combination of bechamel and bolognese sauce!

Penne Carbonara - Rp 60k

The waitress claimed that its Penne Carbonara was the house's favorite. However, I thought it was just okay. Nothing's special in the dish.

For drink, we ordered Ice Blackcurrant Tea for Rp 25k each. It was refillable.

Overall, I really like the food here. They were tasty and affordable. BUT the service was beyond mediocre! The place was super busy yet they just had very little super rude waiters, not to mention that they were not helpful either. I tried to understand the rudeness of the waiters was because they were overwhelmed by the amount of customers they had to serve, yet they were not many of them. But still, it got to my nerve, to the point that I did not enjoy my dining experience there. They did not smile even for just once; it took them a very very looonngg time to bring out the drinks, while all they need to do was just grab a glass and fill it with the already-made blackcurrant tea; whenever we requested something, they just either ignored it, made us wait for a super long time, or said "sorry, I am busy," and bluntly ignored it!!

Note to management, please pay attention to the number of waiters and expected customers, and the quality of the waiters. I am sure, we were not the only disappointed customers, and we did not spot any restaurant manager while we were there.

Pizza Marzano

Ground Floor, Mall Kelapa Gading 3

Jl. Boulevard Raya 

Jakarta Utara 

http://www.pizzamarzano.co.id

Canteen

I went to Canteen after a movie in Plaza Indonesia. I forget when it was, bit it was a weekday night, and the place was not busy. We usually have to wait in line in weekend. I always found that Canteen was quite comfortable, but during peak hours we could smell strong smokes when passing by the smoking section.

Baked Nachos with Guacamole - Rp 40k

My friend and I were there only for small meals this time. We decided to ordered Baked Nachos to share.  We really love the generous amount of melted cheese on top of the tortilla. The salsa was not my favorite; it was a bit too sour and too watery. I prefer chunky tomato pieces in my salsa.

Classic Caesar Salad - Rp 50k

We also ordered the Caesar Salad for sharing. I like it, but there was nothing special about it. The croutons came in bigger pieces than ordinary croutons.

Ice Chocolate - Rp 30k

I was sleepy that time, and being sleepy brought out my inner childish self. Thus, I ordered the Ice Chocolate just for the sake of my childhood time. Well, I love to have a cup of chocolate milk every now and then :p The Ice Chocolate was rich in well, chocolate. But again, it was just okay

Canteen
Plaza Indonesia, 5th Floor
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta Pusat
Ph: (021) 315 6537


Pacific Place
4th Floor
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 52-53
Jakarta Selatan
Ph: (021) 5797 372

http://www.canteenjakarta.com/

California Pizza Kitchen

California Pizza Kitchen is an American based franchise restaurant. I went here on a Wednesday evening with two of my friends since we missed CPK's Spinach Artichoke Dip so much! I hadn't tried the one in Indonesia yet before, so we decided to give it a shot.

Spinach Artichoke Dip - Indonesia version (Rp 95k) vs The US version ($9.29)

We were a bit disappointed when the dish came out. It was a bit different from the one in the US. You can see from the picture that the dip in Indo was thicker in texture and lighter in color, as in there was no spinach (?). The chips were also different, since the US version came with blue and white corn tortilla chips, while Indo version came only with the thicker white tortilla chips. For the taste, well the US version's dip was tastier. However, the one in Indo was good enough to satisfy my craving. We even managed to order another portion :p

Shanghai Garlic Noodle with Chicken - Rp 85k

We also ordered Shanghai Garlic Noodle with Chicken. CPK pasta never failed me, neither did this one. The portion was enough for us three. It was great, tasty and a bit sweet. There were also generous chicken bits and mushrooms in it. I really really really like their Asian pizza or pasta.

 I actually think CPK is one of the restaurants that have good pasta in Jakarta, and I can assure you, there are not so many of them. I like my pasta to be well seasoned that I don't need to add more salt and pepper. The works should be done in the kitchen by the chef, and as a customer, I should be able to enjoy pasta served without have to add other ingredients.

We ordered Ice Lemon Tea - Rp 25k and Ice Tea - Rp 20k (not pictured). We really liked the fact that both of them were refillable.

California Pizza Kitchen
Plaza Indonesia eX
1st Floor, #039
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav 28-30
Jakarta Pusat
Ph: (021) 310 7667

Mad for Garlic

I went there on a weekday evening. I heard the restaurant was super crowded so I made a reservation. Turned out, it wasn't busy at all, maybe because it was a weekday night. 

The front of the restaurant was small. It actually reminded me of an Italian pizza stove, dont you think so? Mad for Garlic served Italian food with Korean twist, since the chain restaurant was originated from Korea. The main ingredient was...Garlic!bingo! However, you don't need to be a garlic biggest fan to try it out. All of the dishes essentially contained garlic, but in most of them you could barely taste it. And again, garlic is good for your health. 

They take garlic to another level, Garlic Chandeliers! who would have thought of it. I just had to post a picture of it.

Dracula Killer - Rp 45k

We got the Dracula Killer for appetizer. It was soft garlic bread served with garlic cooked in olive oil and anchovie. They always offer to put cheese on top of every dish. The garlics were served as if they were escargots, which my friends and I joked that the dish was fake escargot.

The way to eat it was to put the garlic in the middle of the sliced garlic bread, and they told us that it's better to eat this while it's still hot. For the taste, we did not really like it. You could barely taste the garlic, which was good, but you knew it was there. The garlic was soft and a bit gooey. The sauce lacked of its flavor compare to the usual escargot sauce.

Garlic Snowing Pizza - Rp 115k

We got the Garlic Snowing Pizza to share as the waiter said it was one of their favorite menus. It was basically sweet garlic pizza topped with shrimp and pineapple, but we ordered one without pineapple. It was my favorite menu there!I love it. The pizza crust was thin. It has sweet creamy sauce, which I found it to be different than any other pizza, and I loved it! There were garlic sprout and fried sliced garlic. Again, you could barely taste it, but I prefer the fried sliced one tho'.

Garlicpeno Pasta - Rp60k

It was described as Mad for Garlic special pasta with full of garlic and Mexican pepper. It has three chili sign, meaning it's super spicy. For you who didn't know, I could not stand any spicy food. Thus, I just had one bite and it was spicy, but my friends said it was not -.-' It was my friends' favorite dish there that night.

Triple Garlic Pasta - Rp 110k

Another friend ordered triple garlic pasta, which was spicy seafood pasta served with fresh mussel, shrimp, cuttle fish, and garlic sprout. This one just had one chili sign, and I could take it. There was a lot of seafood in the plate. However, my friends said that they love garlicpeno pasta better.

Anyway, it did not end here. Throughout the rest of the night until the next day noon, I could still feel the garlic! and I'm not talking about garlic breath, it's more like garlic taste in my saliva or something, I had spent more time brushing my time, it didn't work. One of my friends who dined together also felt the same way, but others did not. I had to drink a cup of coffee to eliminate this feeling -.-' geez it was a bit frustrating.lol

Mad for Garlic

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town
West Mall, Ground Floor, 20A
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta Pusat
Ph (62-21) 2358-1076

Social House

I took a day off to accompany Mr. Foo applying for a US visa. After finished with the US Embassy, Mr. Foo felt very hungry, since he got up late and had to skip breakfast. So, we decided to go to Social House in Grand Indonesia, or GI for short.

Food goers must be familiar with Social House. It was under Ismaya Group management. Being located in GI, Social House was one of the "IT" hang out place in Jakarta. It was always fully booked on weekend, and it was spacious.

It was located on the First floor right at the end of Level One, inside Harvey Nichols. Now that the department store had closed, the athmosphere at the entrance of SoHo was not as inviting. It did not give the exclusivity vibe it used to, it was actually a bit horrid. However, once you went in, you would forget about the entrance!

I love the decoration of Social House, or SoHo for short. I found that it was really comfie and cozy with the wood pantry atmosphere; and the most interesting part is it gave totally different vibes during afternoon, evening, and even at night. In the afternoon, the place would be really bright, since the restaurant was surrounded by mirror overlooking "Bunderan HI." In the evening, they would open some of the windows so that you'd feel the wind breeze passing through your face as you were enjoying your mid-day cocktails or tea. At night, they would dim the lights and it was usually really crowded. You could hear people talking and laughing while they enjoyed their boozes.

Anyway, we went there for early lunch and it was not that busy. We were quickly seated right in front of the open kitchen. I had been here numerous times, and I just realized that they had open kitchen.

Mr. Foo was really really hungry, while I was too full after my breakfast at McDonald's Sarinah. So here's what he ordered:

Fresh Oyster - Rp 20k each (Rp 100k for 6 pcs)

Mr. Foo LOVES oyster. However, he just ordered one because he already ordered a lot of other food. He said it was really really delicious! He even considered to order more before the other food started to come out.

Dragon Roll - Rp 70k

I decided to share the Dragon Roll since it looked so good! Extravagant food presentation was one of my weakness. Anyway, it did not taste as good. It was soggy in my opinion that I did not finish my part.

Bibimbab - Rp 75k

I tried a scoop of the Bibimbab and I didn't like it. However, Mr. Foo said that it was good, at first. But it might be because he was really hungry, because later on he said that it was not good.

SoHo had always been a hit or miss to me. It could be really good and it could be really bad. It was bad for our visit this time. I would stick to the waiter's recommendation next time. If you plan to go here at night or on the weekend, reservation is highly recommended.

Oh, and they have a bunch of different promotions for those who use HSBC credit card. For this visit I got 20% discount on food, since it was on the weekdays. On the weekend, I usually get a free dessert of the day.

Social House
Harvey Nichols at Grand Indonesia
East Mall. 1st Floor
Jl. Jend. Sudirman
Jakarta Pusat , Indonesia
Ph. (021) 2358-1818

Sunlight at Luna Negra

I'm terribly sorry for not writing for such a long time! It's because I lost my phone that contained a lot of menu details (name, price, etc) and restaurant infos :( I know, I know, I have to admit that I'm kinda lazy. I am sorry... However, with this post, I intend to revive this blog. yayyy... So, I am going to update you on my restaurant visits, even though some of them may not be recent. Here we go..

I had lunch on a sunny Saturday at Luna Negra. This was supposed to be a new "happening" Italian restaurant in Jakarta. It was located in the Citibank building, and placed kind of far from the parking building. However, once we stepped in, the atmosphere was inviting. The high ceiling room were surrounded by big window that let the sunshine came in and made the place bright. I really loved it.

The dining room was located after a two-story wine cellar and the long bar table. The interior was dominated by dark color (to emphasize luna negra - black moon - feeling, I believe), and the decorations gave vintage feeling. My favorite was the old pictures framed on the wall and the vintage telephone in the corner right after the long bar table. For a Saturday afternoon, they were not busy. Ok, I gotta admit that I arrived really late, so people probably had finished their lunch, like most of my friends. They complained me for picking Luna Negra, as the food were terrible. Since I arrived late, I could not take any picture of their food.

Just to be safe, and I was on my period at that time so I didn't have much appetite, I ordered the Classic Caesar Salad with grilled chicken and Hot Earl Grey Tea for drink. I actually wanted to order fruit tea, but the cup for the so-called-premium tea (which was plain boring tea such as Chamomile, English Breakfast, etc) was so much cuter and luckily, I do love earl grey. My boyfriend, let's call him Mr. Foo, ordered Spaghetti Bolognese *he can be sooo plain sometimes* and Luna Ice Tea.

Classic Caesar Salad - Rp 56k and Earl Grey Tea - Rp 25k-ish

The Caesar Salad was humongous, even though it looked normal in the picture. And....it tasted blah. I could not describe it, but...I could not finish it. It was that horrible. However, see the cup, it was sooo cute! I dreamed to have some of those if I have a house on my own :p

Spaghetti Bolognese - Rp 70k ish (I coudn't remember) - Luna Iced Tea Rp 30k

The Spaghetti was standard, nothing to rave about, yet nothing to dispise about. Mr Foo ordered the Luna Iced Tea, which was basically ice tea with cubed grass jelly, because the waiter claimed that you had not visited Luna Negra unless you tried Luna Iced Tea. 

Creme Caramel - Rp 39k

We had creme caramel as a dessert, and it was the only decent food that noon. However, one of my friends commented at how the creme caramel was bubbly while it was supposed to have smooth texture. Despite the texture, it tasted good. I loved how it was sweet, and I loved(!) sweet things; moreover, when I had my period and my mood went down to zero level. 

All in all, I was disappointed. However, my friend, who ordered Salt and Pepper Squid, said that it was quite delicious. So maybe one day ifff... I have to go there again, I'll try their Chinese food, and probably some cocktail and the Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert. will keep it in mind.

Luna Negra

Plaza Bapindo

Citibank Tower, Ground Floor

Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 54-55

Jakarta Selatan
Phone: (021) 2995-0077

Late-Birthday Surprise at Pastis

My friends and I went to Pastis on last Saturday. It's located right across Four Season Hotel, strategically in between Kuningan and Sudirman Street. However, one of my friends lost her way here, so maybe it was not that strategic, eh? The road was empty because of the  Eid holiday or Eid ul-Fitr or Idul Fitri in Indonesian. I heard more than 1 million (!!) people traveled out of Jakarta, either to celebrate Eid or just for holiday.

We went there for an early dinner so the place was still empty even though I saw "reserved" signs on most of the tables. The ambiance was nice as expected. The interior decoration was not as advertised. It was supposed to mimic a kitchen, but I barely notice the kitchenette-feeling. Anyhow, the light was perfectly bright and they have a lounge in the backyard. It was closed though on the day because it was raining. 

The dinner menu was divided into Appertizer (or light bites I forget how they phrased it), Asian, Pasta, and Main Courses. They also served breakfast and brunch (until 5p.m. if I'm not mistaken). I didn't have high expectation since some of my friends said the food was blah.

After asking what the waiter recommended and used our judgement, we had:

Spicy Escargot - Rp 35,000

Nasi Goreng Ijo - Rp 65,000

Chicken with Beer & Onion Sauce
(I forget how much but I think it's around Rp 85,000)

Nasi Goreng Ijo was REALLY GOOD. The green color was from green chilies; however, we could order it "not spicy." It was still a bit spicy but oh boy, it was good! The portion was generous. It fed three of us. Spicy escargot was good too, moreover for the price.

The Chicken was a disappointenment, we didn't finish it. The salad was a bit bitter, the dressing was not that nice either. Lesson learned, stick to what the waiter suggested.

Anyway the surprise party went smoothly. I was so surprised when suddenly the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to me right when I was about ordering desserts. My friends bought the princess cake from Awfully Chocolate. They also brought paper crowns to complete the princess theme.lol I had so much fun

Oh, we had Melon Ice Tea (@Rp 25,000) for the drink and it was SOOOO GOOD. It was really sweet, but I love overly sweet stuff.lol

Will I come back again? Definitely!

The Kuningan Suites
Setiabudi Utara, Kuningan
Jakarta Selatan

DKI Jakarta - Indonesia

PH: (021) 526-0260